Shinra
by Tyler Willis
Summary: In this AU, Shinra is good, and AVALANCHE are responsible for the Heartless. When Cloud, head of Shinra's military, goes missing, the members of the newly formed Organization XIII are taken out of training, and set on Cloud's trail.


Shinra

A flash of red: that brief sight of hair sets me on edge. I turn quickly on me heels, and head in the opposite direction. I pass a large set of oak doors, and briefly consider slipping through them into the library. That idea, of course, is discarded; if I am being searched for, that is the most obvious place for my pursuer to look.

Down the next hallway I turned, already planning the route to my destination; it suddenly occurred to me where the best place to seek refuge is. I make good progress towards my first hour classroom; no one will think to look for me there, since school ended almost five minutes ago. It is ingenious, if I do say so myself.

I reach the last hallway I need. Halfway down the corridor is my English teacher, Mrs. Belle. She is a very strict teacher, and won't allow any messing around in her room, and Axle won't go near her; they'd had a slight misunderstanding freshman year, and now he's terrified of being alone with her.

"Stop right there!" The voice had its desired effect. I stop, turning around to look at my captor; it was a slender blond girl,

"Larxene? What are you doing here?" I ask, inching slowly toward the door to Mrs. Belle's classroom; I have no chance of outrunning Larxene, so I have to be sly with my movements.

"Surely you haven't forgotten what day it is. Today's our weekly game of assassination. You managed to avoid us throughout the school day, but, alas, your time is up. Are you going to give up, or do I get to have some fun?"

"What happened to the others?" I ask.

"Marluxia and Lexaeus tied in second hour, so they're both out. Axle took out Vexen. And I'm about to win us the competition."

I quickly think over all my options. She'll win in a fight, she'll win in a race, and I am too far away to get into the classroom, though I'm certain she'd follow me without a second thought. I consider casting a spell, to try and even the field, but Larxene would strike before I'd be able to finish.

"I…withdrawal from this week's competition." I say, grateful that that she'd wasted the three minutes I needed to be allowed a withdrawal. Larxene glares, mad that she's lost her chance to win this game; true, her team did score two points, but overall, mine is still in the lead.

"Good. I'm glad you're still worthy of your title." A tall boy dressed completely in white, including a lab coat, spoke from the other end of the hall. "Maybe next time, Larxene. Come on Zexion." Vexen turns and walks away.

"Sorry Larxene. Better luck next time." I say, smirking. I hurry after Vexen. After a few minutes we are joined by Lexaeus; the tall broad shouldered man has a bruise around his right eye and a slight limp in his right leg.

"What do you think of these combat games they've got us doing now?" Vexen asked.

"I find them enjoyable. They're a good way to exercise the mind. Besides, we'll need all this training if we're supposed to join the new division of SOLDIER." I say. As usual, Lexaeus remains silent.

We reach the apartments where we currently live, and Lexaeus walks away. Vexen continues to walk with me for a few more feet, before I reach my room. Vexen says a short goodbye as I enter my small apartment: courtesy of Shinra Incorporated.

Unlike most people, I had my dorm room completely to myself. I'm not sure why I've been singled out for this special treatment, but I'm happy that I am. As far as I know, aside from me, only high-ranking Shinra officials were granted the privilege of privacy.

I think now would be a good time to explain a few things. My name is Zexion, I'm fifteen years old, and I'm currently living in Shinra's second largest city, Twilight Town. I live and attend school in Sector Eight of Twilight Town. I'm in college right now, and training to join a new military unit, named Organization XIII: I've been assigned Vexen and Lexaeus as partners. Right now there are four teams of three, all of whom will become a part of the new SOLDIER division.

I walk over to my bed, and lay down. Sleep comes easily to me tonight; I don't have to suffer through any dreams. When I awake, I feel unusually refreshed. The light that fills my room is naturally artificial; I'm nowhere near a window, a fact for which I am thankful.

It takes a few moments for me to fully come into consciousness. I sit up and slide off the bed; once I'm standing, I strip off my clothes and hurry to dress in something clean. Then I turn on the television.

"…nd on a more tragic note, AVALANCHE has struck again. At three hundred hours this morning, an attack was lead against Destiny Island's Imperial Palace; the leader of the offence was reported to be none other than Maleficent herself. Leading an army of Heartless, AVALANCHE's second in command tried to breach the paling that surrounded Destiny Island. Thankfully, Imperial Forces were able to repeal the assault until assistance from Shinra arrived. His Majesty, the Crowned Prince Sora, was not harmed…"

I turn the television off; I don't feel like watching depressing news so early in the morning. I exit my room, and start wandering down an oversized hallway. I don't know where I want to go; I didn't have any classes today. I finally decide to go to Sector Three to visit one of the other future members on the soon to be founded Organization XIII.

Twilight Town is, overall, a nice place. I find it to be overcrowded most of the time, but I can live with that. The poverty level is low, less than one out of every six thousand people is unemployed. The air within the city is, for the most part, clean. And the education system is top rate.

I walk at a slow pace, leisurely moving towards the train station. The station is a massive construction of steel and marble; it isn't quite as beautiful as Station Heights, but still magnificent. I pass through security, and purchase a ticket for Section Three. In a few moments, the train pulled in, and I get on.

The ride and the subsequent walk were rather lengthy and uneventful. I reach the home of my future college and marvel; living in Sector Three has its advantages, and his house is one of them. It's three stories high, made of a glamorous white stone. I walk to the front door and knocked twice.

"Hello. Who are you?" The door is opened by a young girl.

"Good day," I say, since it's long past morning at this point. "Is Demyx here by any chance?"

"Ya, he is. Would you like me to tell him you're here?"

"Yes, please."

"Then would you mind telling me who you are?" The girl asks sweetly.

"I'm Zexion." I answer. The girl's face fills with recognition and she allows the door to fully open.

"Come in. I'll go tell brother you wanna see him." I watch with mild amusement as the little girl skips away.

She leaves me in a large anteroom, and heads up a narrow staircase that is in a corner of the foyer. There are several potted ferns hanging from the ceiling, and a tapestry of gold and platinum hanging on a nearby wall. I am amazed by how spacious the home seems to be.

"Hay Zexy. What are you doing here?" I look towards the staircase, and see Demyx.

"I had nothing to do, and I remember you saying you lived in Sector Three, so I thought I visit you. Is that okay?"

"Ya, that's fine. I just didn't think you'd be the kind of person who'd visit others." Demyx gives me a smile as he descends the stairs. "Oh, ya, you wanna tour?"

"Sure." I say. I'm not certain why I've came to his house, but I think I was looking for something new, trying to break from my routine.

"This way, Zexy." He leads me through a door that is opposite the tapestry.

He shows me around the ground floor, which has an oversized kitchen, a large sitting room, and a dining hall. Then he leads me to the second floor, which has six bedrooms; it seems that his entire family lives in this house, to compensate for its size. He stops the tour before we go up to the third floor, and he invites me into his room.

"So, what do ya think?" Demyx asks me.

"Your house is really big." I say, my tone filling with awe.

"Ya… we have thirteen people who live here. I'm actually the only one who doesn't have to share a room. One of the perks of joining SOLDER, I guess. Anyways… what have you been up to? I haven't seen you in weeks." Demyx motions for me to sit on his bed, while he sits in his desk chair. Unlike the rest of the house, the bedrooms seem to be small.

"I've been training, mostly. Trying to learn how to anticipate Vexen and Lexaeus actions. And I've been having to work extra hard to keep up with my collage workload."

"Oh, that's right! I keep forgetting how advanced you are Zexy. I keep thinking you're still in high school, like me."

"Um, Demyx, aren't you nineteen?" I ask.

"Ya. So?"

"Well, don't most people graduate from high school before they're eighteen?" I ask, trying not to imply that he's stupid.

"Nope. I'm pretty sure that's not right." Demyx seems sincere as he responds, which gives me a clue as to why he may have been held back.

"So Zexy, what do ya wanna do?" Demyx asks suddenly.

"Um, I don't know. I hadn't really thought I'd be here this long." I give my answer honestly.

"Well, since you're the guest, it's your job to think of something to do. While you think, I'm ganna watch some television. Don't take too long to decide, okay?" Demyx turns on a small television in the corner of his room.

I'm not used to spending time with people, let alone being asked what I want to do, so I sit diligently on Demyx's bed and think; Demyx watches a show that sounds odd. Suddenly, the screen flashes and the picture changes.

"We interrupt this program to bring you a breaking news development; Midgar is under attack! Approximately eight minutes ago, a legion of Heartless began assaulting Midgar's paling. A squadron of SOLDERs has been dispatched and is currently engaging the Heartless." The screen sifted to a live feed of the battle outside one of the entrances to Midgar. "Reports indicate that several high ranking members of AVALANCHE, including Maleficent, Ursula, and several others, are also…hold on! Thi…this can't be right! According to a firsthand report from one of the SOLDERs, the leader of AVALANCHE is taking part in this attack."

I jump up, causing Demyx to look at me. Before I say anything, the news announcer starts speaking again.

"We've just received word that the head of Shinra's Military Division, Cloud Strife, is planning to lead a counter attack against Sephiroth's forces. All residents of Midgar are advised to stay indoors until further notice."

"Demyx, I think we should go see Ansem." I say anxiously.

"Why?"

"To see if there's anything we can do to help."

"Zexy, were too far away from Midgar to help, and even if we were closer, what could we do against Sephiroth?"

"I…hadn't considered that." I admit.

"So, do you know what you want to do?" Demyx asks, changing the subject for my benefit.

"I think I'm going to go home." I say, turning to face the door.

"Oh…okay. I'll see you out." Demyx stands and moves over to the door. He opens it for me, and I walk out.

I follow him downstairs. Standing in the large anteroom is a woman that I haven't seen before. Her hair is long; reaching down to her shoulders it is a deep red color. When she looks at me, I noticed that her eyes are light blue. She smiles, and I feel a blush color my cheeks.

"Demyx, who's your friend?" Her voice is soft and soothing; it's more beautiful than any music I've ever heard.

"Oh, sorry. This is Zexy." Demyx says.

"My name is Zexion." I mumble.

"Is he your…friend?" The ways she asks the question leads me to believe she's implying something else.

"Ya, he's my friend; he's joining SOLDER, same as me."

"I see. Well, Zexion, it's nice to meet you. I'm Demyx's mom, Ariel." She gives me another smile, and then walks over to the stairs.

"Well, hope you have a nice day." Demyx say as he opens the door for me. "And Zexy, feel free to stop by any time."

I must admit, I'm supersized that Demyx said I could come back; I don't make friends easily, given that I'm smarter than everyone else. And yet, Demyx didn't seem to mind that I'm smarter than him. So, I think I will visit him again.

As I walk to the station, I look at a nearby church's clock tower; I've been away from home for almost four hours. I consider continuing to the station, but truthfully, I don't feel like going home yet. I head to the church, and pull open the door. For the first time that I can remember, I enter a church.

Four rows of benches, made of some type of wood, extend on each side of the main aisle for several meters; the backs of the benches are covered with a thin, soft crimson colored fabric. The aisle is carpeted with a faded red colored rug, which stretches from the entrance to a podium where a priestess will give sermons.

The walls have three large stain glass windows, which allow light to trickle into the building; in this part of the city, the sky is visible, so sun light reaches almost everywhere in Sector Three. The altar was made of silver, and had flowers covering it.

"Hello. Welcome. What brings you here on such a devoutly unimportant day?"

I focus my attention on the area near the podium where a small door resides. A woman clad in a pink dress is making her way to the altar; around her neck is a silver pendent, signifying her devotion to the clergy.

"I just kind of… felt drawn in." I say.

"Well, why don't you sit down?" She says, motioning towards the first line of benches. "Something is troubling you. Why don't you talk about it?"

I walk forward, and sit on a bench; it is neither comfortable nor painful. "Well, I just saw something on the television that I found disturbing."

"Ah, yes… young people do often watch programs like that; who was it that procured the recordings for you? Was it someone close to you that you trust? Did you know what they were making you watch, or did they keep you ignorant to try and take advantage of you?"

"Wh… what are you talking about?"

"What were you talking about?" She asks in return.

"I was talking about a news bulletin I saw."

"Oh!" The lady in the pink dress is blushing. "Well, then… tell me about it."

"It was about AVALANCHE."

"Do you wish to join them?" She seems to think that's what I'm implying.

"No, it's not like that." I say. "They're attacking Midgar, and I want to help stop them. But, there's nothing I can do to help them right now."

"So you're noble; you can't help, and because of that, you feel depressed."

"I guess. I wanted to at least try and help, but the person I was with reminded me we were too far away to do anything. And, he made a good point; you see, Sephiroth is leading the attack, so my friend pointed out that even if I was there, I couldn't do anything to help defeat the leader of AVALANCHE."

A candle falls from the altar. The woman in pink is staring at me with wide, unblinking eyes. "Did you say Sephiroth?" She asks.

"Yes. Sephiroth is, or at least was, leading an attack against Midgar."

"This is not good. If Sephiroth is there, Cloud is bound to get involved." The lady mumbled.

"Um, Ms., I don't mean to be rude, but why are you talking about a Shinra official like that?" I ask. Normally, no one would ask a priestess a personal question; doing so was, with but few exceptions, considered a sin. But, I'm not very a religious person, so I don't mind if she decides to consider me a sinner.

"I've known Mr. Strife for a while." I can tell that she isn't comfortable referring to him so formally. "So, you're interested in joining the war effort?"

"I am. Right now, I'm training to join a new division of SOLDER."

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"One as young as you shouldn't fight." Again, she's mumbling. "What's your name?"

"Zexion. And yours?"

"Gainsborough. Aeris Gainsborough." I find myself thinking that her name is just a pretty as she is.

"It's nice to make your acquaintance." I smile at her.

"Do you know what tomorrow is?" Aeris asks me.

"Sunday."

"That's right. But tomorrow isn't just any Sunday. It's Tranquility Day. The first Tranquility Day to take place on a Sunday in almost ten years. You should come and join the celebration."

"Thank you for the invitation, but I'm not a very religious person."

"What's your point? You should still come tomorrow. Well, it's an all day event, so if you do change your mind, feel free to show up. Now, I'm afraid I have duties to attend to. Feel free to stay here as long as you'd like." Aeris walks back to the door by the podium, and slips through it.

I stand and leave the church. Once again, I'm walking to the train station; it takes me eight minutes to reach it. I buy a ticket to Sector Eight, and get on the train; after about ten minutes, the train departs.

I exit the train an hour or so latter and head home. Now that I'm back in the artificial light of Sector Eight, I feel more at ease; I still want to help defend Midgar, but now I can live with myself for not being able to help.

I reach my room and am about to open the door when something slams into me. I'm pressed to the front of my door; I try to turn around, but am unable to.

"Well, if it isn't the little genius, ya know?"

"Bravo."

I know those two voices. I know them almost as well as I know my name. And I know who else was with them. I'm picked up from behind and tossed to the ground, at the feet of the leader of my tormenters.

"What do you want?" I ask as I stand up.

"What? It's been almost a month since the last time we saw each other, and you're not even going to say hello?" The voice belongs to Seifer; he and his lackeys run the high school, and most adults in Sector Eight are scared stiff of them.

"Impolite." The silver haired girl to the left of Seifer says with a scowl.

"Hello, Fujin. How are yo-" Seifer leans forward and grabs my neck. His hand tightened and he lifts up off the ground. I tried to pry his fingers away from my throat, but his grip is too great for me to overcome.

"Now you lessen here you little pipsqueak! Don't you ever call her that again! Do you understand me?" I do my best to nod, and Seifer lets go of me.

"What do you want?" I ask once I've finished gasping for breath.

"There is again. What did I ever do to you to warrant such disrespect?" Seifer asks. "Are you going to invite me in?"

I don't move. Seifer has always been bad, but since I skipped to collage, he's gotten worse towards me. Fujin, who goes by the name Fuu, used to make sure Seifer didn't get too violent, but now she doesn't seem to care. Anyways, I know that the worst thing for me to do is let Seifer into my apartment room.

"Seifer asked you ta do something, ya know?" Rai said; he's the one who pinned me to the door in the first place. Now he's standing next to Fujin.

Seifer puts out one hand, pressing it against my door, near my head. He leans in, and looks me directly in the eyes; well, in my eye anyway. My left eye is covered naturally by my bluish silver hair. "Open you door, and invite me in."

"Can I say something first?" I ask. I place the palm my hand on Seifer's chest.

"Sure." Seifer isn't used to his victims playing along with his games, so it's only natural that he'd be interested in what one of the might have to say; so long as Seifer gets what he wants, he doesn't care about what happens.

"Fira!" I yell. Flames surround my arm, and concentrate in my palm. Seifer is sent flying backwards as a sphere of fire erupts from my hand. When he lands, I trust out my other hand and yell "Fira" again. This time, Seifer is covered by midsized orange flames for a few seconds.

"Why you little…" Seifer, who is standing, starts coughing in pain and collapses to his knees.

"Withdraw." Fujin says calmly; she helps Seifer up, and pulls one of his arms around neck so she can support him.

"We'll be back, ya know? Then you'll be sorry, ya know?" Rai follows after Fujin and Seifer.

I stand, leaning against my door, for a few moments as I try to catch my breath. I can't believe I've finally stood up for myself, though now I'm terrified of how Seifer may retaliate.

"Well, I'm glad you handled that. I was afraid I'd have to step in and help you out."

"What are you doing here, Axle?" I sigh as I unlock my door.

"Come on Zexion. We're supposed to be allied enemies. If you're in trouble, why wouldn't I try to help you?"

"Axle, go away." I knew he wouldn't take my request the wrong way. Axle, just like all the other future members, knew that I didn't have very good social skills.

"Whatever you say, Shorty. See ya on Monday." Axle walks away as a walk into my room.

I'm exhausted, a mix of strain from dealing with so many people, being scared by Seifer, and using midlevel magic. I go to my bed, and collapse on it. I'm asleep before my next breath.

In the morning, I awaken slowly. My mind isn't a groggy, but my mussels are sore, and the flesh of my arms is raw; a side effect of controlling fire. I sit up, then lay back down. I don't want to get up yet.

I lose track of time laying on my bed. After what seems like hours, though it could easily have been mere minuets, there's a soft thud on my front door. I slowly get out of bed, and walk out of me bedroom; my apartment has a small bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, and another bedroom were a roommate should be. I pull open my front door.

Lexaeus is standing outside, shirtless. It's weird, seeing a colleague half-naked. The artificial lighting of Sector Eight dances across his chest, and I can't take my eyes off him. He extends his arm, and grabs my hand.

He pulls me out of my apartment, and I pull the door closed. He leads me down the hallway, still holding my hand; he's making me feel like a child whose mom thinks he's going to wonder off. Not that I'm complaining.

Sector Eight is basically one large building, with certain areas devoted to certain things. Right now, it seems as though Lexaeus is leading to the section devoted to schooling. It's times like this that I wish Lexaeus would talk.

"Hay Zexy. Hello Lexaeus." Demyx walks up from behind us. He's wearing sky blue pajamas, which seem to be slightly transparent. "Lexaeus, why don't you go on ahead? I'll fill Zexy in on what's happened." Lexaeus nods, and lets go of my hand and hurries forward.

"What's happened?" I ask, turning my attention to focus completely on Demyx.

"Remember yesterday, when you wanted to see Ansem. Well, Ansem has decided he wants to see all of us."

Demyx grabs my hand and puss me forward; he starts to run, and I'm pulled along with him. We turn down several more hallways, and at last are in front of the room that belongs to Ansem. Demyx opens the door, and we enter.

"Welcome number six. Welcome number nine. Please, take your seats. We're just waiting for number ten to arrive." Ansem says. I take my place, and wait. After a few more moments, Luxord enters and takes his seat.

"Now then, since everyone is here, let's begin. Yesterday, as I'm sure you all know, Midgar was attacked by AVALANCHE. The leader of this attack was Sephiroth. The head of Shinra's Military Department, Cloud Strife, lead a counter attack. After eighteen hours of fighting, AVALANCHE was repealed. But, after the battle, Cloud Strife was nowhere to be found. Shinra isn't sure if he's dead, captured, or hunting down Sephiroth."

"So, where do we play into this?" Xigbar, the oldest member, asks.

"Well, SOLDIER officials have decided to activate Organization XIII." Ansem says.

"There are only twelve of us." Demyx points out the obvious.

"Well, that will have to do. You've all been given funding and clearance to leave Twilight Town. Here are you assignments." Ansem stands and passes out twelve large manila colored envelopes.

"Go now. Find Cloud Strife. Work together, or by yourself. I don't care, as long as you work." Ansem waves his hand in dismissal.

We all stand and leave. Right away Xaldin, Xigbar, and Xemnas group together and head off. Saïx follows after them, leaving his former group behind. Larxene and Marluxia walk away as well.

"Now, isn't this interesting." Luxord says.

"I think we should break into two groups of three, so we don't attract too much attention while we search." Says Axle.

"I nominate Zexy as a party leader." Demyx grins.

"Hold on! I'm the highest ranking member who's here, so I should be a leader." Vexen, who's wearing a white pare of pajamas.

"But Shorty is smarter then you." Axle says. I glare at him for calling me short.

"How dare you!" Vexen screams.

"Lexaeus, Demyx, would you be interested in joining my group?" A nod from Lexaeus and a grin from Demyx indicate that they are willing to join with me.

""Well, I guess that means I'm the other party leader." Axle says. I walk away before I have to hear Vexen's response. Demyx and Lexaeus follow after me.

"So, I think we should I'll go home and get dressed. Once we've packed our bags, we can meet up at-"

"Let's meet up at my place." Demyx says.

"Alright, we'll meet at Demyx's house." I say, liking the idea. "Does Lexaeus know where you live?"

"No he does not. Why don't you on ahead, Zexy? I'll wait for him to get his stuff, then I'll escort him to my house. Kay?"

"Alright. See you in an hour or so." I say, walking away. I realize that we'll probably meet up on the train, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

I walk into my apartment, and set about getting packed. I take out the trench coat that had been given to me when I first agreed to join Organization XIII, and put it on. Now I take my backpack and dump everything out of it. I fill it with foodstuffs, bottled water, and a bag filled with eye-drops and eco herbs.

I fill the pockets of my trench coat with Gil; I'm attending college on scholarships, and most of my expenses are taken care of by Shinra, since I'm joining SOLDIER. Because of this, I have quite a bit of money saved up.

I pick up my backpack, which I haven't used since I was in high school, and hold it with on hand. I open my door and step outside. I set off in the direction of the Section Eight train station.

"Hey, Zexy, over here!" I look up and see Demyx standing near the ticket terminal with Lexaeus. Lexaeus is dressed like me, in black coats that cover his entire body. Neither of us have our hoods up.

Lexaeus is also holding a massive tomahawk, using his shoulder to support it. Some of the people around use are shooting us questioning glances, and most of them are noticeably frightened.

"What's with the-"

"That's Lexaeus' weapon. Remember, we all have one. He couldn't very well leave it at home, now could he? Don't worry! Ansem left as permits to carry our weapons with us in Twilight Town; the permits were in that folder he gave us."

"When dose the train leave?" I ask, making for the ticket terminal. Lexaeus uses his free hand to grab my shoulder and stop me. I look back to him, and he shakes his head no.

"We already got your ticket, Zexy." Demyx tells me. "We'll be allowed to board the train in a couple of minuses, once it's arrived."

I wait. It's four minutes before the train arrives; it'll be another half hour before it departs. We sit in a privet car, which I've never been in before; it's rater nice to have so much free space. I'm sitting next to Demyx, and Lexaeus and his weapon are sitting across from us.

"So, Shinra has given each of us a bank account with around five thousand Gil." Demyx informs me.

"Really? Why so much?"

"Don't know. Not that we need it; my mom's rich, and, by extinction, so am I. But, I guess Shinra wants to make sure we can do our jobs."

"So, Lexaeus, are you able to release and summon your weapon?" I ask.

As Lexaeus nods, a burst of blackened light filled the room. For a moment, everything is covered in shadows. Within seconds, everything returns to normal, and Lexaeus' weapon is gone.

"So Zexy, where do you think we should start looking?"

"Well, I've no doubt that Xemnas and his gang are headed to Midgar as we speak, to search the surrounding area. Vexen is probably trying to find out were Cloud was born. I'm not sure where Larxene and Marluxia would go, but they aren't stupid; they'll have a plan, and a good one at that."

"Well, it's good to know what all the others are doing, but what about us? What are we doing to do?" Demyx asks, slightly sarcastic.

"I think we should talk to someone who knows Cloud."

"Oh? Ya, that's a great idea. 'Cept we don't know anyone whose met Cloud, let alone knows him."

"Well, actually, I do know someone who's met Cloud." As I say this, Lexaeus raises an eyebrow.

"Who?" Demyx demands.

"A priestess named-"

"You know a priestess?" Demyx interrupts me.

"Ya. I went into a church yesterday, shortly after I left your house." Again, Lexaeus raises an eyebrow: though I'm not sure if he does this because I went into a church or because I was at Demyx's house. "I met the priestess there, we got to talking, and she said she knows Cloud."

"Wow. That's awesome." If it were anyone else, I would have thought he was being sarcastic; Demyx, however, wasn't being sarcastic.

"So, after you've gotten your stuff packed, we'll head to the church and talk to her. If we're lucky, she'll be able to point us in the right direction."

The rest of the trip is uneventful, and after a few minutes the train reaches our stop. Lexaeus stands and exits the train car we're in. Demyx and I follow quickly behind him. Once we're off the train, we head towards Demyx's home.

When we reach it, Demyx takes a shining brass key from his pocket and unlocks the front door. Pushing the door open, he motions for Lexaeus and myself to enter. We comply, and walk into his house. Mrs. Ariel is standing in the foyer, I assume waiting for Demyx to return.

"Why, Zexion, it's good to see you again. And who's this?" She asks, pointing at Lexaeus.

"Mom." Demyx say as he closes the door behind him. "Organization XIII has been activated. I have to go away for a while on a mission."

"Oh." Ariel seems a little shocked. Demyx rushes upstairs to pack.

"Don't worry too much, Mrs. Ariel. Lexaeus and I will make sure your son stays safe." I tell her.

"Thank you." Her beautiful eyes start to fill with tears. "He… he's my only son…and I cou… couldn't bear to lose him."

"You won't. I promise, Mrs. Ariel, that no harm will come to your son." I say. Lexaeus nods his agreement.

Demyx walks down the staircase, now dressed in his cloak. In his left hand he's carrying a small backpack, no doubt filled with medical supplies; I know it isn't food, because he hasn't been in the kitchen yet. In his right hand, Demyx carries a silverish blue musical instrument.

When he sees his mother crying, he drops everything and rushes towards her. He wraps his arms around her slender waist and gives her a gigantic hug. This seems to help Ariel recover, because she stops crying, and looks into her son's eyes.

"Listen to me, Demyx: I know you can't tell me where you're going. I understand the SOLDER has given you a mission, and you're not allowed to tell me what it is. But I want you to make me a promise. Okay?"

"Sure thing, mom. What is it?"

"I won't you to promise me that if you ever need help, you won't hesitate to ask your grandfather for help." This confuses me, and I make a note to ask Demyx who his grandfather is later.

After Demyx had assured his mother that he would honor her request, she insists that we stay for lunch. So we all follow her into the dining hall; she quietly slips into the kitchen, to tell the chef to prepare some more food.

"Everyone had lunch about two hours ago. It's almost thirteen hundred hours, after all."

Mrs. Ariel and I engage in a small amount of small talk. Demyx and I talk about school, which we'll no longer have to attend. Demyx and his mom talk about their family. Lexaeus says nothing.

When it's time for us to leave, Mrs. Ariel gives her son one last hug. Then she turns to me, and pulls me into a tight embrace; I'm not fully comfortable with this, as I've only seen her once, but I allow her to hug me. After a few more moments, she lets go of me and gives Lexaeus a brief hug, telling it's nice to have met him.

We walk outside, Mrs. Ariel standing in front of the door; as we move away from Demyx's house, she waves to us. I take the lead, and head off towards where the Church is.

Not many people in this day and age are religious. I can't really blame them for their lack of faith; I myself fell no religious convictions. So when we reach the church, despite that today is Temperance Day, the church was filled with but a few people.

In front of the altar is a long table, filled with platters of food. At the podium stand Aeris, reading from a large tome. Most of the people who are in the church are over the age of sixty. The three of us take a seat in the back most row of benches.

After about an hour of listening to her speak in an unknown language, I start to grow bored. Demyx was bored the moment we entered the church. Lexaeus, however, seems to be enjoying himself.

Another few minutes pass, and Aeris finally stops speaking. There's light applause from everyone except Demyx and me. Even Lexaeus claps his hands. Then the people sitting stand and start to mingle. I notice that there are, in fact, several young people here as well; they head directly for the food.

"Ms. Aeris, can we talk to you for a second?" I ask. She looks at me for a few moments, then her face fills with recognition.

"Zexion, right? The boy from yesterday?"

"Yes." I nod.

"Sure, you can talk to me. I must admit, I didn't think you'd show up today. It's so hard to get young people to have faith nowadays."

"Ms. Aeris, could we talk to you in privet?" I ask, urgency coloring my voice.

"Alright. This way." She leads us toward the nearby door. She opens it, and Demyx and I follow her in. Lexaeus stays back, guarding the entrance.

"Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?" She gives me a kind smile, then looks at Demyx. "Who is this?"

"This is my friend, Demyx."

"Well, Demyx, it's nice to meet you." She holds out her hand, and Demyx sets his bag down and shakes it.

"Ms. Aeris-"

"Please, just Aeris. So, what do you need?"

"Well, you said that you knew Cloud Strife. I was wondering if you could tell us about him?" I ask.

"Why do you want to know about that?" Aeris doesn't sound very happy; she doesn't sound mad or angry, but her normal joyfulness was no longer present.

"How do you know Mr. Strife?"

"I met him shortly after he left SOLDER. It was quite some time ago; Sephiroth defected from Shinra shortly afterwards."

"Did you know him well?" Demyx asks.

"I would say so. We spent almost every day together of about three years."

"What were you doing?" I ask.

"Well, when Sephiroth defected, Cloud wanted to search for him. I went with him on his journey."

"What happened?" I'm caught up in the story.

"Well, in the end, we did find Sephiroth. But when Cloud confronted him…well, Cloud was no match for Sephiroth's power. He went mad with hate; Cloud rejoined Shinra after that. He climbed the corporate ladder, until he became head of Shinra's Military Department. But, even to this day, I believe that Cloud has a burning obsession with Sephiroth; I'm certain that all Cloud cares about now is defeating that horrible man."

And with that information, I begin to formulate a plan. The information I've just learned and everything I already knew flashes into my head. It's obvious to me, now, that if Cloud is alive, he'll be searching for the elusive leader of AVALANCHE.

"Ms. Aeris, I'm sorry." I say.

"Sorry fo-"

"Stop." I say as I thrust out my hand. Six transparently blue diamond shapes appear, one above Aeris' head, one next to each of her hands, one in front and behind her back, and one between her feet. My spell freezes her movements, and I motion Demyx to follow me out.

"Come on, Lexaeus. We have a train to catch." I hurry to the front door, grabbing my stuff as I pass where I had been sitting.

"Would you mind telling me why ya did that?" Demyx asks as we walk to the train station.

"She would have started wondering why we were asking questions about Cloud. We can't afford to waste time. We have to get to Midgar as quickly as possible."

"Why do you want to go there?"

"That's the last place Cloud was seen. More importantly, that's the last place Sephiroth was seen. Based off what Ms. Aeris said, Cloud, if he is still alive, is going after Sephiroth. So, we'll start our search in the village around Midgar, and see if anyone has seen someone who matches Sephiroth's description." Lexaeus gives a curt nod of agreement as we reach the train station.

Demyx buys us our tickets, first class on the twenty hundred hours train to Midgar; we board the train and find our compartment, then wait. Right now, it's barely eighteen hundred hours. A server stops by and asks us if we're hungry. Demyx and I order diner, and I order something for Lexaeus too.

"I think we need to cut our connections to SOLDER once we start looking around the villages." I say.

"Why?" Demyx asks.

"Well, in order to find Cloud, we're going to try and track down Sephiroth. And if we look for Sephiroth, the members of AVALANCHE are bound to get suspicious. If anyone finds out we have ties to Shinra, we'll have a battle on our hands." I explain.

"Oh! I get it. That's really smart, Zexy." Demyx said. Lexaeus nods as the compartment door opens and a server enters with the food we ordered.

"Sorry about the wait, sirs. If you need anything, just let one of the attendants know."

"How much longer until the train leave?" Demyx asks.

"About an hour and a half." With that, the server leaves.

Once we finish eating our dinner, we're left in boredom. Lexaeus allows himself to fall asleep, for which I'm jealous; I've never been able to sleep on trains, even when they're not moving.

"So, Zexy, what's your weapon?" Demyx asks as he uses his powers to make his sitar, which was his weapon, disappear.

"Oh. Well, it's this." As I hold out my hand, a burst of shadows fills the area. Two things happen as the shadows fade away; my weapon, a book called a lexicon, becomes visible, and the train starts to move.

A/N: Hello all. I hope you enjoy this new story. I'll bet none of you has read my other story; on the off chance you have, please know that I'm rewriting it. It'll be significantly better.

Please, if you have any qualms with this story, let me know through either a privet message or a review. And anonymous review that flam this story will be removed; if the review is not anonymous, feel free to flam as much as you want.

I look forward to hearing what you think of this story.

-Tyler M. Willis


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